Multiple control governor for gas or coke oven systems



N ov. 8, v1927. l

J. T. WILKIN MULTIPLE CONTROL GOVERNOR FOR GASOR COKE OVEN SYSTEMS Filed'Maroh 23. 1925 I ATTORNEY.

rasees nav, e, iena Jflli'l' il?. WILXIN, @F CGNNERSVILLE, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR T0 THE CGNNERS'VILLE CG., @1F CONNERSVILLE, INDIANA, A CORPORTIUN 0F INDIANA.

WILIILE CQNTRL GrGl'IE'RNGB FOB GAS 0B COKE OVEN SYSTEMS.

.pplieation tiled March 23, 1925. Serial Ho. 17,621.

It is the object of my invention to roduce harmony of action between the co ectingmain governor or governors and the exhaust- .er governor in gas plants andby-product coke-oven plants, and to minimize hunting and interference between governors.

In multiple cokeoven systems, the ovens are-divided into batteries, each of which has its own collecting main. lThe gas collectin mains discharge by their own individua crossover mains into a common suction main. A collecting-main governor is v be 'responsive tothe pressure 1n each collecting main, and to open or close a valve in the associated crossover main as the pressure in its collecting'main rises or falls, in

trolled in various ways" with the idea of' increasing, and decreasing the exhauster speed to correspond withthe quantity of gas supplied to it. In the past the exhauster as been controlled by a constant-pressure governor responsive to the ressure in the suction main .just ahead of t e'coolers; but this does not fully meet the conditions. The normal pressure in Ythe collecting mains should bea few millimeters ofvwater above atmospheric pressure, and is thething which must e maintained as nearly constant' as possible: and the pressure at the intake of the exhauster4 is usually below atmospheric pressure to provide the necessary differential ressure to move the gas vand overcome the `riction through the mains. The diil'erential pressure necessa for this varies with the amount of gas ing moved, so that the maintenance of a' constant suction just ahead 'of the coolers may mean a considerable vaso riation in pressure in the collecting mains under different conditions. This is especially the case upon turning in a freshlycharged oven, as that produces a strong pull in the,

associated collecting main, by increasing rovided 'to hauster is not exerted until ,changeV in gas vation and inlpart in vertical section,

very suddenly Vthe volume of gas flowing into that collecting main, and thus tending to increase the pressure in all the ovens of that battery. Theassociated collecting-main governor attempts to take care of thisby openlng the valve in the associa-ted croover mam; butV vthis in turn tends suddenly to raise the pressure in the suction main, and 'causes a readjustment of neighboring collectlng-mam governors, producing what are termed governorinterference and hunting between the several governors. In addition, the increased'low of gas increases the frietional loss ;l so'that to maintain the movement of gas under these conditions of increasing1 supply it -is necessary to lower sllghtl t e pressure just ahead of the coolers; w ich cannot be done if the control of the exhauster is to maintain, a constant pressure at that point. Moreover, there is alwaysa certain lag in the action, not only in the change in the speed of the exhauster but in Vthe actual transmission of the effect of pressure changes from one part of the system to another; so that if the control on the expressure reaches the entrance to the coolers, the delay is so reat that the desired correction llags consi erably behind the changed condition. which requires such correction.

In carrying out my invention, I modify the action of the exhauster lgovernor, harmonize its action with the col ecting-main governors, and to some extent cause it to anticipate direct demands on it, by interconneeting the exhauster governory with one or more collecting-main governors, desirably the one farthest removed from the exhauster. y

While this can be done in various ways, v I desirably do it by a modification offthe system shown 4in the patent of Carll R. Houghton No. 1,440,297` granted December 26, 1922; fundamentally by providin in the Houghton system one or more ad itional lair-leaks responsive to one or more collecting-main governors.

The accompanying drawing illustrates' my invention: Figs. 1 and 1a together constitute a diagram showing asystem as a whole` equipped with my invention, Fig. 1 showing the ovens and certain of the connections thereto in plan, and Fig. 1a showing the governors and the exhauster in part in ele :asV

the two igures being inter-related so that` adjacent parts of the same members appearing in the two figures are in line; and Figs. 2 and 3 are details of air-leak valves, shown in vertical section.

The ovens 10 are shown arranged in sever- The lower, part of the cylinder 35 is con-l nected to an air-supply.' pipe 40 and to an airoutlet pipe 41, both of which communicate al batteries, with a separate collecting mail? with the cylinder 35 below the lowest point 11 for each battery; and theseveral collecting mains are connected by separate crossover mains 12 to a common gas suction main 13. From the gas suction main the gas passes through coolers 14, of which there may be several in parallel, to an exhauster main 15, which leads to the intake of the exhauster 16. As shown, the eXha'uster is driven by a steam engine 17, supplied with i steam through a steam-supply pipe 18.

In each crossover main 12 there is a control valve 20, forming part of and operated by a suitable collecting-main governor 21 responsive to the pressure in the associated collecting main 11. For simplicity I have illustrated this diagrammatically, without the pilot-valve mechanism which is usually provided on account of the smallness' ofthe changes in the controlling pressure.' As thus diagrammatically shown, the collectingmain governor is of the floating-bell type,

piston 34 movable vertically in a cylinder wherein a pipe 22 from the collecting main 11 opens beneath a bell 23 dipping into a suitable liquid such as oil or water, in a vessa 24; which teu directly or indirecay (directly as shown) operates a bell-crank 25 connected by a link 26 tothe operating arm 27 of the associated valve 20. When the pressure in a collecting main 11 rises, as because a freshly charged oven is turned in, the resultant rise ofthe bell 23 of the 'collecting-main governor acts to open 'the associated valve 20; which permits' a greater flow of as from that collecting main through tle crossover main 12 into the gas suction main 13, to tend to restore the pressure in the collecting main to normal. When such pressure falls, the reverse series of ac.- tions occurs. y

The supplyof steam for the exhausteroperating engine 17 may be controlled by a lever 30, which may be any suitable control lever for any desired kind of engine control. The lever 30 is operable by an arm V31 provided with a counterweight 32; and the arm 31 is connectedto the piston-rod 33 of a 35, so that when the piston 34 rises the arm 31 moves the lever 30 to reduce the engine speed, and vice versa. The piston andcylinder 34-35 and the connection'therefrom to the lever 30 constitute a pressure-responsive device connected to the control member which the piston 34 can reach. The airsupply pipe 40 is connected to the outlet of a small blower 42, desirably a rotary positivepressure blower, which is driven from the exhauster 16 in any suitable manner, as by a belt 43, so that the speeds of the blower and of the exhauster vary inproportion. Thus as the speed of the exhauster increases, the quantity of air discharged by the blower 42 is proportionately increased; which tends to lift the piston 34, to operate the lever 30 to cut down the steam-supply to the engine 17, and thus to lower the exhauster speed.

vIn this way a governing action is obtained. This direct governing actlon by the move-- ment-oI the piston 34 upon mere change in 'speed of the exhauster may be supplemented by a leakage valve 44 provided in the pipe 40, which valve 44 is connected by a link 45 to the lever 31 to allow greater or less leakage as the piston 34 rises and falls respectively. This produces a stabilizing action which I deem desirable, but-it is not essential. Theleakage valve 44 may beV of any type, but for simplicity is illustrated as a simple inverted cone suspended ina leakage opening.V v

The air-outlet pipe 41 leads to other leakage valves, of which Iv have shown three. One of these is a leakageV valve 46 which is closed and opened by a suction-main governor 47 as the pressure in the suction main just ahead of the coolers rises and falls respectively. The second is a `leakage valve 48 controlled by one or more of the collecting-main governors 21, desirably the one `farthest removed from the coolers 14. Thev as an inverted bell 50 dipping into water in a vessel 51, with a neath the bell 50 and tion main 13 'ust ahead of the coolers 14. Desirably the liell 50 has a buoyancy chamber 53, so that its different positions correpipe 52 opening beconnected to the sucspond to slightly different pressures in the l of the enginev for controlling the steam supply thereto. For the sake of safety, yI also provide a ball overnor 36, responsive to the engine speed; utthis ball governor is arranged to come into play only when the suction main. The bell' 50 is swung from one'end o f a lever 54, from the other end of which is swlmg a counterweight 55 ;l and this latter end of the lever 54 is connectedV to the leakage valve 46. This leakage valve .messes 46 is shown as abalanced valve, having a valve stern 56 which projects through the end wallsl of a chamber 57 connected to 'the' pipe 41, the stem at such end walls having cut-away portions 58 which allow the escape of air from the chamber 57 at a rate dependent upon the position ot the stern 30. This balanced-valve construction, however, is not essential, and an ordinary cone valve may be used in place of it; and, similarly, balanced valves may be used instead ot cone valves -at the valves 44 and 48 if desired.

The valve 48, like the valve 44, is shown as a simple inverted cone 59 hung 1n an airleakage opening, the cone conveniently being suspended from the bell-crank 25 of the l collecting-main governor with which it is associated. As the pressure in the associated collecting main rises, to open the a:sociated valve 20 in the crossover main, it also lifts the cone 59, to allow more leakage from the pipe 41, and vice versa In operation, the exhauster 16 draws gas from the various collecting mains through the various cros'over mains into the suction main 13, and thence through the coolers 14 and exhauster main 15; and discharges such gas into the dischargemain 60`for disposi'- tion in accordance with standard practice. The blower 42 blowsair through the pipe 40 into the cylinder 35 beneath the piston 34, and more or le:s of the air thus supplied by the blower escapes through the various leakage valves 44, 46, 4 8, and 49, and around the piston, the amount escaping depending upon the settings of these leakage valves. The air pressure beneath such piston 34 raises lthepiston to a greater or less height, and thus moves the control vlever 31 more or less. The blower keeps a constant pressure beneath' the piston 34` for a constant speed'of the exhauster, so long as the leakage valves remain in any constant position. It' for any reason the speed of the exhauster increases or decreases, as because of a change in steam pressure, the speed of the blower correspondingly changes and the pressure beneath the .piston is correspondingly increased or decreased; which tends to raise or lower the piston to move the control lever to compensate for such change in exhauster speed. This involves a compensation by a movement of the leakage valve 44,` if that valve is provided.

l If the pressure in the suction main 13 'increases or decreases at the entrance to the coolers 14, the bell 50 of vthe ,suction-main governor rises or falls correspondingly, to increaseor 1decrease the leakage at the leakage` valve 46, to cause'a fall or rise ofv the piston 34 and a consequent increase or de,

crease in the speed ofthe exhauster 16 to tend to` return thepressure in the suction main toward normal.

However, this actionby itself is too slow,

action of the leakage valve 48. lVhen the pressure in the collecting main 11- farthest from the coolers rises or falls, with a resultant rise or fall of the bell 23 of the associated collecting-main governor and a correspondingopening or closing ot the valve 20 of the associated crossover main 12, there is an increase or decrease of air leakage at the valve 48. This changed leakage is reiected almost instantly by a :tall or rise of the .piston 34, to cause an increase or decrease in the speed of the exhauster 16 to take care of the changed quantity ot gas which is just starting into the system from the collecting main 11. rlhus the exhauster 16 changes its speed before the change of pressure due to the changed quantity ot gas reaches the suction-main governor 47, and

the'pressure at such suction-main governor is slightly lowered in advance of a rush of gas to it, in readiness for such rush when it comes. But the effect from the changed position ofthe leakage valve 48 is modiiiedy the action of the collecting-main governor,

and the' two are made to work in harmony, with a great reduction in governor interference and in hunting and swinging.

I claim as my invention l 1. In a gas or coke-oven plant, the combin'ationfof one or more gas collecting mains, a suction main supplied from Vsaid collecting mains, 'an exhauster for drawingv gas from said suction main, one or more collectingmain governors for controlling the How of gas from the respective collecting mains to the suction main, and a governing device for the exhauster controlled jointly by the speed of the exhauster and the pressure in ancollecting main.

2. In a gas or coke-oven plant, the combination of one or more gas' collecting mains, a suction ma'in supplied from said collecting mains, an exhauster for drawing gasfrom said suction main, one -or.more collectingmain governors for controlling lthe flow of gas from the respective collecting mains to the suction main, and a governing device for the exhauster controlled jointly bythe pressure in a collecting main andthe pressure in the suction main.

3. In a gas or coke-oven plant, the com- Y bination of one or more gas collecting mains,

a suction main'supplied from said collecting mains, an exhauster for drawing gascfrom said suction main, one or more collecting- 'main governors for controllin gas from the respective collecting mains to the suction main, and agoverning device for the exhauster controlled jointlyby the speed of the exhauster and the pressures in a col? lecting main and in the suction main.

'i 4. In a gas or coke-oven plant, the combination of one or more gas collecting mains,

` said suction main, and a-fgoverning device a suction main supplied from Said collecting mains, an exhauster for drawing gas from for the exhauster controlled jointly by the speed of the exhauster and the pressure in a `collecting main.

5. In a gas or coke-oven plant, the combination of one or more gas collecting mains, a suctionmain supplied from said -collecting mains, an exhauster for drawing gas :from said suction main, and a governing device for the exhauster controlled jointly by the pressure in acollecting main and the pressure in the suction main.

-6. In aj gas or coke-oven plant, the combination of, one or more gas collecting mains,

a suction main supplied from said collectingv mains, un exhauster for drawing gas from said suctionmain, and a governing device for the exhauster controlled jointly by the speed of the exhauster and the pressures in a collecting main and in the suction main.

the flow ofl mains, an exhauster for drawin 7. In a gas or coke-oven plant, the combination of one or more gas collecting mains, a suction main supplied from said collecting mains, un exhauster for drawing gas from saidsuction main, a control member for controlling the speed of the exhaiister, an air system includlng a pressure-responsive de- ,vice connected to said control member to operate it, a blower' arranged to operate at a speed proportional to that of the exhauster operate it, a' blower arranged to operate at aspeed proportional to that of the exhauster and supplying air to the pressure-responsive device,` and means for controlling leakage from the air system supplied by said blower by the pressure in a collecting main.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at Connersville, Indiana, this 16th day of March, A. D. one thousand nine hundred and twenty-five.

l JOHN T. WILKIN.

and'supplying air to the pressure-re onsive- 

